Senate Committee Moves Bill Requiring Pipeline Companies To Make Emergency Plans Available

On July 15, the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee reported out House Bill 2293 (Quinn-R-Delaware) that requires pipeline companies to make emergency response plans available to the Public Utility Commission, the PA Emergency Management Agency and county emergency management director where the pipeline is located.

The bill was introduced-- along with a companion Senate Bill 284 (Killion-R- Delaware)-- after the owners of the Mariner East Pipelines-- Energy Transfer Partners-- only provided local emergency officials with heavily redacted copies of their emergency plans that were basically unusable, according to Sen. Tom Killion’s explanation before the Committee.

This legislation, along with legislation introduced by Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester)-- Senate Bill 258 which would also address emergency response to a pipeline explosion or leak-- have been languishing in the House and Senate for a long time.

Sen. Dinniman told the Committee he would be attempting to amend his bill into House Bill 2293 as it moves through the full Senate.

There are no fewer than 20 House and Senate bills stuck in the General Assembly-- all of them bipartisan-- to address a variety of pipeline issues.  And they’ve been stuck for years.  Read more here.

Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks) serves as Majority Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-5072 or sending email to: rtomlinson@pasen.gov.  Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-4236 or sending email to: boscola@pasenate.com.

(Photo: Energy Transfer Partners Revolution Pipeline explosion in 2018.  The pipeline was brand new. Read more here.)

Related Articles:

-- How Long Must The Public Wait For Action On Bipartisan Pipeline Safety Bills? New Pipeline Bill Introduced

-- Bipartisan Pipeline Safety Legislation Highlighted By PUC Administrative Law Judge Decision In Mariner East I Pipeline Leak

-- DEP Issues $1.95 Million Penalty To Sunoco For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations At Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County

-- DEP Issues $30.6 Million Penalty Over ETC Revolution Pipeline Explosion Violations; Lifts Permit Bar

[Posted: July 15, 2020]  PA Environment Digest